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Dustin Byfuglien
| birth_place = Minneapolis, Minnesota | draft = 245th overall | draft_year = 2003 | draft_team = Chicago Blackhawks | career_start = 2005 }} Dustin Byfuglien (born Dustin Ray Byfuglien on March 27, 1985) is an American professional ice hockey player for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). Drafted as a defenseman, Dustin has played both forward and defense in his career. Playing Career Dustin played major junior hockey for both the Brandon Wheat Kings and Prince George Cougars of the WHL. He was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2003. Originally a defenseman at the start of the 2007–08 season, Dustin was moved to a right wing position to give the team a larger body near the net, an experiment that proved successful. Dustin spent parts of his first two seasons with the Blackhawks' minor league team at the time, the Norfolk Admirals, and the Blackhawks. He excelled in his third professional season, becoming the first Rockford IceHogs player to earn the American Hockey League's Player of the Week award when he scored one goal and had five assists in four games. Dustin had seven points in eight games with Rockford before earning a recall on November 3, 2007 to the Chicago Blackhawks and never returned to the IceHogs. He had a goal in his first shift with the Blackhawks in the 2007–08 NHL season on November 3rd against the St. Louis Blues and recorded his first career hat trick (three goals in one game) against the Phoenix Coyotes on November 30th. Dustin finished tied for fifth on the team with 19 goals and 36 points in his third season with the team, all while making a transition to forward throughout the campaign. He played a major role in the Blackhawks' Stanley Cup winning season in 2010 scoring 11 goals with 5 assists in the playoffs including 3 goals in the Finals. On June 24, 2010, Dustin was traded by Chicago, along with Brent Sopel, Ben Eager and Akim Aliu to the Atlanta Thrashers for a 1st and 2nd round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Marty Reasoner, Joey Crabb and Jeremy Morin. The Thrashers moved Dustin back to his natural position of defense, although he had experience as a first-line and second-line winger with the Blackhawks, including the Blackhawks' run to the Stanley Cup in 2010. He became an alternate captain for the Thrashers after a few months into the 2010 season. Dustin was selected to his first All-Star Game along with teammate Tobias Enström. On February 15, 2011, the Thrashers signed him to a five-year, $26 million contract extension. He scored 12 goals along with 41 assists during the 2011–12 season that saw the Thrashers move to Winnipeg. Dustin appeared in 66 games for the Jets that season. In the 2011 All-Star Game's Skill Competition his slap shot was clocked at 102.5mph. Career Statistics Accolades -* injury prevented attendance Personal Life Dustin's parents are Cheryl Byfuglien and Ricky Spencer. His mother is of Norwegian descent, and his father is African American descent. Cheryl moved to Roseau, Minnesota, with Dustin to be closer to her family while Ricky stayed in Minneapolis to continue college; the two never wed. In Roseau, Dustin was exposed to the game of hockey where he found an instant love for the sport, which soon turned into a calling. Dustin's stepfather Dale Smedsmo played four games in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1972, and 110 games in the World Hockey Association. Dustin has three half-siblings on his father's side. Due to academic ineligibility in Roseau, Dustin first moved to Warrenville, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, to play AAA under-18 hockey for the Chicago Mission then moved to Canada to play major junior hockey. Dustin is an avid fisherman, and competed in the 2011 Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship on Rainy Lake. On August 31, 2011, he was arrested on Lake Minnetonka and booked on suspicion of boating while intoxicated. Dustin pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two days of community service on July 23, 2012. On December 28, 2011, Dustin and his long-time girlfriend, Emily Hendry, welcomed their first child, a daughter named Kira Rae Byfuglien. Category:1985 births Category:Winnipeg Jets players Category:Chicago Blackhawks players Category:Chicago Blackhawks draft picks Category:Atlanta Thrashers players Category:Stanley Cup champions Category:Norfolk Admirals players Category:Brandon Wheat Kings players Category:Prince George Cougars alumni Category:Rockford IceHogs (AHL) players Category:American ice hockey players